Pāṇḍu’s Marriages, Conquests, and Triumphal Return (पाण्डोर्विवाह-विजय-प्रत्यागमनम्)
अर्थमर्थनुबन्धं च धर्म धर्मानुबन्धनम् | काम कामानुबन्धं च विपरीतान् पृथक् पृथक्
artham arthanubandhaṁ ca dharmaṁ dharmānubandhanam | kāmaṁ kāmānubandhaṁ ca viparītān pṛthak pṛthak
“(Seseorang hendaklah) memahami artha beserta akibat yang mengiringi artha; dharma beserta akibat yang mengiringi dharma; dan kāma beserta akibat yang mengiringi kāma—serta mengenali yang berlawanan—masing-masing secara terpisah dan jelas.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
The verse teaches ethical discernment: evaluate artha (material gain), dharma (righteous duty), and kāma (desire) together with their inevitable consequences, and also recognize their opposites (harm, unrighteousness, destructive desire). Each domain should be judged distinctly rather than confused or used to justify the other.
Vaiśampāyana, as narrator, articulates a reflective principle about how to assess human aims—wealth, duty, and desire—by tracing their ‘anubandha’ (attached outcomes). It functions as moral instruction within the Adi Parva’s broader didactic framing.